Well, I guess that we'll see if this rumor is true in 3 to 4 years. Though I'm sure that Jackson will need to find a new Bilbo, since Ian Holm is a bit too old to play the younger version of Bilbo. Though it will be cool to Andy Sedaris(sp?) play Gollum again.

woooooooooo iwonder if they'llhave the guy that played elrond playinghim again ooh ooh ohh! i wonder who will play beorn ( the bear guy) , wooooo! i cant wait i hope they dont leave anything out. The LOTR films were good but they missed out the best characters- Incl. TOM BOMBADIL!!

I think there is going to be one major problem with the Hobbit, primarily for those (pretty fanatical) Tolkien purists who decried any changes whatsoever made to Tolkien's story of the Lord of the Rings.

The problem is this. If the Hobbit is made it will be made solely because the LotR made mega bucks at the box office. That being so, the movie studios backing the film will want a film that is like the LotR. And the Hobbit is not that film. The Hobbit is aimed at a much younger audience and that is an audience that would not bring in nearly as much money. The studios will want it aimed at the same audience that LotR was. That will mean darkening the story line that Tolkien wrote. Having seen the LotR Gandalf they will not want to confuse people with the Hobbit version, who is altogether far more prickley.

For my money the following may well happen;

1. Gandalf will be as per the LotR.

2. The number of Dwarves will be severely downgraded. A 2-3 hour film is not going to be able to give seperate personalities to 12 different Dwarves. I would think we will be left with Thorin (obviously), Balin, maybe Dwalin, possibly Bombur (if they are going for comedic elements), Gloin (for the "fans" ref'ing Gimli) and maybe Fili and Kili, so that they can be killed for Pathos at the end. That would leave somewhere between 4-6 Dwarves which would be a far more manageable number.

3. Talking trolls. Hmmm, this will be extremely difficult to handle after the trolls depicted in the LotR. I can see this being changed to an action sequence.

4. Misty Mountains. This can remain pretty much as is, but I think would be expanded to a large action sequence similar to the Moria sequence.

5. Wargs and the Eagles. For starters the Wargs won't talk. And unless they severely ramp up the number of Orcs and Wargs present, filmgoers will be unsure of why Gandalf and a handful of Dwarves can't kick their asses. After all they will already have seen Gimli going through Orcs to the dozen in the LotR. Additionally the introduction of the Eagles is not as vital as it could be because we have already seen, in LotR, that they help Gandalf and participate in battles. So this sequence could be cut.

6. Beorn will be cut or altered considerably. The scene as is may be seen as too comic, and if there are less Dwarves may not make as much sense. And an immense bear (as seen at the Battle of the Five Armies) may be seen as too implausible. (though given giant spiders et all who knows)

7. Mirkwood, expanded and turned into an action scene. Will they keep the Elves treating the Dwarves badly? Hard to say.

8. Laketown, briefly shown I should think.

9. Smaug and his death will be shown of course.

10. Battle of the Five Armies will be shown, maybe without Beorn and the Eagles though.

This is great news, if it actually happens. I've always preferred The Hobbit to its more epic offspring. I agree the filmmakers will ditch the talking animals. Poor Smaug will probably lose all his humor, but perhaps the actor playing Bilbo can insinuate the proper tone in those scenes regardless. Too bad Ian Holm isn't younger. I hope they don't go as young as they did in LotR. Frodo I could buy in a younger incarnation, but Bilbo needs to be at least a bit older.

I'll trust the filmmakers, but ask a few hypothetical questions anyway:

1. What are the chance we'll see Gollum the blood-thirsty cannibal here, and not the same funny/pathetic schizo from the movies? Personally, I need to believe he's ready to chow down on hobbit flesh. He never quite achieved that level of menace in the LotR films for me. I really want to see Gollum as the "ghost that drank blood," ate infants, all that jazz. Although we don't find those events out until FotR (and never in the film), it would be neat to see them somehow hinted at in the prequel.

2. Would we actually see Gandalf and co. attack Sauron aka the Necromancer, sort of like they did with the scenes between Gandalf and Saruman in FotR? In that case, could there be two plotlines here: one dealing with Gandalf and Sauron, and the second dealing with Bilbo and Smaug?

3. How might they play out the climax of the movie? If memory serves me, doesn't Bilbo literally pass out at some point, and wake up when its all over?

Good news... and BAD news!

Bad news...! Just when it was looking good...

Last week I read more and more reports that The Hobbit would probably go ahead, with production beginning in 2008 or 2009. At this rate, when the movie is released it will have been about 10 years since Fellowship! Anyway, it was still good news, and the other good news was that the studio wants to make TWO MOVIES!

But just today, the bad news: New Line has apparently dropped Peter Jackson from the project, because he is still entangled in a law suit against them (for apparently not giving him proper profits on Fellowship), and Jackson has said he won't do the Hobbit until the lawsuit is settled. The studio is saying that they have limited time in which to begin The Hobbit, and so now they're apparently actively seeking a new filmmaker.

This brings up all kinds of concerns, like who the new director will be, whether he will be any good, whether they will still use WETA for effects, and actors like Ian McKellen for the roles...

In the article I was reading Jackson is in dispute with New Line and therefore won't be making the Hobbit. They want him to do the movie, but for the wrong reasons, according to Jackson. Ian McCelland and Andy Serkis both have said they won't do the movie without him, to show their loyalty to Jackson. I really hope they can get their problems resolved because I honestly can't see anyone else making this movie. But I guess as it stands now it is a no go.

The Return of the Cast

There has been a substantial amount of Hobbit news in the last few days. Jackson has managed to sign and secure several LOTR cast members. We now have confirmation from Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood (yes), and now... Christopher Lee! This is great news, considering Lee's return was thought unlikely due to his age and unwillingness to travel.

Cate Blanchett has also been confirmed for a while now, and Orlando Bloom is rumored to be returning but hasn't signed yet.

NOTE: All 13 dwarves are also cast, as well as Beorn and even Drogo Baggins (Frodo's dad!).

The one thing that's always bugged me about the hobbit and LOTR - and I know this may seem obvious, is the eagles. Can someone explain to me how they work and why they can only appear at certain plot driven moments? Otherwise I love the films!